Sunlight
by FrankieRaye
Summary: A novelization of my very first RP *sniffle. wipes a tear*
1. Default Chapter

Sunlight

This story has been sitting around gathering dust for a loooooong time. Almost three years, I believe. It's from back in the days when RP was plentiful, and we acted like newbies but didn't care because it was fun. Actually, the first chapter is based off of the sad and tragic events that founded the friendship between myself and Remel (I will murder anyone who calls her that ! Nya!) otherwise known as Fanatical-Chick, FFN author # 200430. Yes, the Remy in the story is none other than Marvel's own Gambit. And, as people have pointed out about my portrayal of Gambit's accent, third person is very, very annoying. Deal with it. –smirks- 

We've RP'd these charas a few times since then, and I'm sure the occasional fic will pop up. In fact, one has already, and you can find it in Remel's section, http://fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1073969. 

Note to Marvel: Don't sue me. Think of this as free publicity for your charas. See, look. "Hey, people! Go buy Marvel comics! Especially X-men!" There ya go. 

Enjoy.


	2. Part One

Sunlight: Part One: Blackness

Whispy clouds filled the sky, all but blocking out the light of the nearly full moon. A chill wind blew through the trees, sometimes as a breeze, sometimes as a gale. This part of the road seemed to lack the marks of use - width, wagon ruts, hoof prints - and the tavern in the shadows of the pines at the bend in the road, as ruinous and deserted as it looked, seemed utterly out of place. The wood that made up the walls and roof was rotting, the windows were shuttered tightly with much abused shutters. However, there was smoke coming from the chimney, and the smell of roasting meat filled the air. 

A lone figure made her way down the empty road to this tavern, slipped in silently, looking around. This wayward tavern was not one she would ordinarily have even considered going into, but times being what they were, she was forced to make the best of things. Her green eyes flickered around the room, searching for anyone she might recognize, or worse anyone who might recognize her. Finding no one, she relaxed some, gently fingering the pendant at her neck. 

The name she went by was Rua - Ruadh Tarvos, the red bull - but that wasn't her real name. Her real name was a secret. Many guessed it was Katherine - because that is what her mother's name had been - and she answered to it, but her true name was a secret known only to two other beings. Rua was a woman of average height and a deceptively slight build, with red wavy hair and soft green eyes. Her hair, which was part of what had given her her name and one of her most recognizable traits, was now wrapped tightly in a tan scarf. Her dress was simple: a tan tunic, belted at the waist, over a black sleeveless jumpsuit and leather boots that went almost up to her knees. There was a dagger sheathed in each of her boots, and a third concealed on her body. 

The room was fortuitously dark, lit only by the light of the fireplace and a few stray torches on the walls. Obviously they hadn't discovered the merits of oil lamps here yet. The tavern was also nearly empty, which didn't surprise her - it wasn't one of the best, or the cleanest. At one end of the bar, a rather scantily dressed woman was talking to the bar keep - an older and not very handsome man. Two cloaked figures sat at a corner table across the room, and one of them, whom Rua guessed by her posture was a woman, had a rather large pet snake twining around her. 

The barkeep and the woman looked over at her just then, murmured something to each other, and then the barkeep walked over toward her table with a repulsive smile on his face. "Can I get you anything?" he asked. 

Rua looked up at him nonchalantly, and shrugged. "Vodka, if it's no trouble." 

He nodded, the gruesome smile not leaving his face. "Are you waiting to meet someone?" 

"No, just getting out of the wind for a while," she said, inwardly cringing. She had been recognized as an outsider, and they both knew it. Outsiders were treated with suspicion in Llyrya - it was hard enough to trust your own people not to sell you out to a slave trader. 

A smirk lit the mans face, "Yes, the wind is rather harsh tonight, isn't it? You have been traveling a long ways." 

"Yes, I have," she lied, "I'm looking for work. After a while, herding goats in Dancia becomes tedious." These three statements were true, however, the barkeep had no way of knowing that they were also unrelated. If the man possessed any kind of sight at all, which most barkeeps seemed to, he would be able so see a lie immediately. All she had to do was choose her words carefully. 

"Dancia? I don't think I've heard of it." 

"It's a very small village in the mountains," she replied, "A few people, but mostly goats." This was true, she had passed through there once, not to long ago. 

"I see," he replied in clipped tones, and then went back behind the bar, muttering to the woman again. Rua stared into the fire, taking in the barkeep's actions without looking at him outright. She was also taking the time to slip a few gold pieces out of a hidden lining in her tunic, knowing from experience that it is usually better if people don't see where the money comes from. He returned in a moment with a glass three-fingers full of vodka. He sat it on the table, looking as if he were going to start asking questions again. She smiled at him, sliding four gold pieces his way. He looked at them for a moment before picking them up, and then smiled at her again. This was more than enough to buy the drink, it was enough to buy some silence. "Let me know if you need anything else, m'lady," he said, retreating to the bar. 

Rua breathed an inward sigh of relief. She knew it was too late to avoid drawing attention to herself, since the both cloaked figures had watched that entire exchange. However, as long as no more questions were asked, she cold drink her vodka slowly and then take her leave. Not that she knew where she was going. The Guild would find her eventually, no matter how far she went. 

At that moment, the door to the tavern swung open, and a man strolled confidently in, heading straight for the bar. Everyone in the room immediately stopped what they were doing to study him. He was fairly tall, with longish brown hair. He wore a brown, capeless jerkin, which revealed close fitting black pants and boots. He also wore gloves, the same brown as the jerkin, but made of leather and missing. He was obviously as new as she was, and, unlike her, obviously not trying to hide it. 

And that was just stupid. 

"Who's de barkeep?" he asked, in a loud, accented voice. Rua knew she recognized the accent, but she couldn't place it exactly. 

The barkeep went back to muttering quietly to the woman, completely ignoring the man, who looked around helplessly for a moment. Rua went back to staring into the fire so she could take in the whole room. The two in cloaks were still observing this man very carefully, and from the slight movements of their heads, conversing quietly about him. Oddly enough, the snake seemed to be observing him too. She tried not to shudder. There was something seriously disturbing about all three of them. 

She felt the man look at her briefly, and he looked like he was about to start across the room to ask her where she got the drink. However, one of the cloaked figures stood, dropping the hood back. If the barkeep had been unattractive, this man was positively hideous. His black hair was tangled and matted with something dark, which Rua really hoped was mud. He had a deeply scarred face, and was missing several teeth. His voice was deep and gruff. "Welcome, stranger, to this humble establishment," he said, with a malicious smile, "Can I get you anything? Or perhaps you will join us for dinner?" 

"Yoah're de barkeep?" the stranger asked, turning to look at him. The barkeep continued chatting with the woman, although Rua could see that both bore slight frowns. 

"I am the owner," remarked the man, as he crossed the room towards the bar. Rua could see straight away that this wasn't true. Her instincts told her that there was going to be trouble, so she quickly downed the vodka. The barkeep and the woman had disappeared in the kitchen, and the other cloaked figure had pushed back the hood, revealing a woman who was not unattractive. However, the sinister air about her made her appearance deeply disturbing. The snake, a boa, Rua now realized, was loosely coiled around her shoulders. The woman slowly stood, her smile as malevolent as the man's, and began pacing towards the stranger. 

The stranger was still oblivious to the danger he was in. "T'ank you," he said, "I'll take whiskey." 

"No trouble at all," purred the man, slipping behind the bar. Rua was about to follow the example of the barkeep and his presumable mistress, but she noticed the woman sliding a bone knife out from under the cloak, her golden bracelets not making a sound on her wrist. She was nearly within striking distance of the stranger. Rua slid one of her own daggers slowly from her boot, holding the glass to her lips with the other hand, for all the world looking as if she were staring into the fire. She waited to make sure, and when it looked like the woman was about to bury the bone knife into the back of the stranger, Rua sent her own knife flying across the room and into the woman's shoulder. The woman cursed, and was about to grab the blade, when Rua recalled her enchanted weapon. It appeared back in her hand before the woman realized what happened. The woman and the snake hissed, and this drew the attention of both the imposter owner and the stranger. The stranger looked at Rua for a moment, the bloody knife in her hand, and then turned suddenly to the woman, looking from her bone knife to the wound. He backed away slightly. "I get in de middle of somet'in, non?" 

Rua smiled slightly, standing, and stepping away from the table. "Maybe you ought to ask what's for dinner." 

A look of dawning horror crossed his face, and he backed toward the door, looking suspiciously at all three of them. "Yoah're... vampires?" he asked. 

The other man was out from behind the bar now, and his fingertips sparked ever so slightly. Rua cursed herself for getting involved - the man and probably the woman as well was at least a sorcerer. She would have seen that sooner if she'd been paying attention. The man smiled, revealing canines that were sharp, but not sharp enough to be vampire's teeth. "What we are is much worse than that," he said in his deep purring voice. 

"I am Lady Necomela," the woman said, licking her lips, "And this is my husband." She smiled a definitely bloodthirsty smile. 

The stranger, whose accent Rua had finally placed as Cajun, one of the Lower-Earth dialects, looked even more horrified. "Yoah're-" 

"Cannibals," Rua finished for him with a snarl, finally remembering what she had heard about this part of the country. She found it odd that a lower-earther had made it to the island of Llyrya... it had long since faded into the mists of that world, forgotten even by history. However, she would mull over that little mystery later. If she lived till later. 

He looked at her. "Whoa - I ain' gettin' myself in de middle of no fight for food. Especially when I gon' be de main course." 

"Then get out," she growled. 

At that moment, the Lord Necromel's hand shot up, sending out blue sparks, then energy of the spell sending the Cajun flying across the room and into a wall. He slid down and landed on the floor, looking dazed. Lord Necromel turned his hand on her and would have sent her flying as well, but she drew a sign in the air with the tip of her dagger and uttered a warding spell. This caused the cannibal and his wife to raise an eyebrow, but she didn't waste the time the spell had bought her. She ran to the Cajun and jerked him to his feet. He glared at her with dazed suspicion. 

"Come off it," she said with another growl, "I ain't one of them. Now let's get out of here. I don't know how much longer that warding spell will last." 

"Not long, I'm afraid," purred Lord Necromel, his hand sparking blue again. He shot out another blast towards them, Lady Necromela adding her own slightly green sparking power in. Rua dipped down and slid her other dagger out of her boot, and quickly stepping in front of the stranger, muttered a stronger warding spell. 

"T'ank you, chere," he said, and made a sign of his own, producing a staff out of thin air. 

"I can't keep this up all night," she said, "You won't get anywhere fighting these two unless you're a mage." 

"I ain' no mage, but I don' like bein' considered for dinner," he said, and then he charged past her towards the cannibals. 

Rua uttered another string of curses under her breath. This was the last thing she needed. Her instinct was telling her that she should just turn and walk out, leaving the Cajun to his fate. Something, however, stopped her. 

Necromela was smiling in anticipation, standing between her and the door, figuring that Rua would be an easy kill. The snake first, thought Rua, and see how she handles loosing her pet. Magic users were often spirit bound to their familiars. After a moment's calculation, she launched both her daggers at the serpent. As she expected, it dodged them both, having seen and expected two. However, while it was distracted, she produced and launched her third blade, sending it into the boa's head. The serpent hissed in agony, and so did Necromela. The snake fell to the floor, and Rua recalled her daggers, vanishing the third, just in time to meet the furious attack of Lady Necromela head on. 

The Cajun, however, was a little worse off than she was. Even though he had an obviously enchanted weapon, so did Lord Necromel, and on top his sword Necromel had his magery, which he kept spitefully using each time the Cajun got the upper hand. In a fair fight, the Cajun probably would have held his own, if not beaten Lord Necromel. Unfortunately Necromel had no intention of being fair. 

Rua faced the Lady's attack, figuring the Cajun deserved to have to take care of herself. Necromela's weapons numbered more than her bone blade - her foul breath and the stench of blood and unwashed body were nearly overpowering, and her nails were like gnarly cat claws. She succeeded in taking several large strips out of Rua before Rua finally buried a dagger in Necromela's stomach with a sharp twist, which seemed to end the fight. The Lady gasped in agony, and fell to her knees, and Rua mercilessly snapped her neck, helping her to join her snake on the floor. 

Lord Necromel heard his wife cry out, but instead of running to her aid, he simply threw even more sorcery at the Cajun. Rua squared herself up to send her daggers at him. She changed her strategy, however, when she got the feeling that this was exactly what Necromel wanted. After a moment it was apparent that Necromel had the Cajun trapped in some sort of magical field and would have used his body to absorb the blow of the daggers. Rua glared at Necromel for a moment, and then shrugged, figuring it was time to cut her losses. "It's been fun," she said, backing towards the door. 

She tried not to look at the Cajun who dangled helplessly in the spell lock. It wasn't her problem that he was an arrogant twit. She was halfway to the door when her disgust for the cannibal overpowered her common sense. She sent one of her daggers flying at Necromel, who, as predicted, used the Cajun to block. However, at the last possible moment, she spoke a spell of disruption, and the blade broke Necromel's hold. She recalled her dagger immediately, and growled at the Cajun, "Cut your losses - and run. I won't help you again." She then backed out of the tavern, slipping her blades into her boots as she ran. The Cajun, showing an unpredicted burst of wisdom, wasn't too far behind. He ran after her, and almost ran into her when she stopped dead in the middle of the road. 

The tavern was no longer in a lonely stretch of forested road, it was in the center of a small village. The most disturbing thing, however, was that the houses were all decorated with bones... human bones. 

"What de - ?" the Cajun muttered, as stricken as she was. 

An inhuman cry - more of a command than anything else - from inside the tavern, however, spurred them into motion. Rua pelted in the direction in which the trees seemed closest, and the Cajun followed, but it seemed like the trees stayed the same distance away no matter how hard she ran. Out of the corners of her eyes she could see shadowed figured advancing towards them, and moonlight glinting off of bone weapons. When they appeared ahead of her, she stopped running and turned around, but the shadows were approaching from behind as well. The stranger had also stopped running, and looked as panicked as she felt. 

The shadows closed in, some revealing themselves to be kin of Necromel, their hair and clothes dirty and matted, reeking of blood. What was more frightening were those like the barkeep and his mistress - that had seemed normal before, but were now revealed in their true state - the mindless spirits that used to inhabit the bones. They circled around Rua and the Cajun, close enough to keep the two from escaping, but leaving an almost deferential space around them. 

Despite the fact that they stood back to back, both Rua and the Cajun were thinking the same thought - first chance for escape, they would take it, alone. It wasn't anything personal, it was simply survival. 

A figure, glowing blue, floated towards the circle from the direction of the tavern. This was Necromel, and he flowed into the circle as he came, joining it, then passing through it, till he stood several feet away from them. He was eating something - when the moon passed out from behind a cloud, Rua could see it was an arm, with golden bracelets at the wrist. She felt as if she was going to be sick. 

"You can't escape, surely that is clear by now," Necromel purred. "But you have both been amusing prey. In fact," he leered at Rua, "You have impressed me very much. Once you have joined my people... I will continue to enjoy your... vigor. Since you have taken my bedmate away, I am sure you understand." With that, Necromel turned to some of the shadows. "Take them. Bind them, and bring them to the temple. When the moon is full, they will join us." 

Necromel turned and walked away, and suddenly the dirty reeking bodies were all over Rua and the stranger. They both managed to hold off for a few minutes, working back to back, but they were gradually separated. The stench at last overpowered her, and a lucky blow knocked her to the ground. She was seized immediately, and she felt the bite of rope into her wrists. She resigned herself to her fate, slipping into blackness. 


	3. Part Two

Sunlight: Part Two: Into the Depths

When she came to, it was into a world of pitch-blackness, lying in cold, moist earth, her hands tied behind her to a stake of some kind. Her feet were also tied together, and she could feel dried blood caked on her face. From the movement of the air, Rua thought it was probably a very small room with a very high ceiling - a pit cell of some kind. 

Rua didn't move, and kept her breathing shallow and slow, in case anyone - or anything - was observing her. She closed her eyes again... what was the point of having them open? It would be better for her if she bashed her head until she was unconscious again. 

Suddenly she felt hands on her, first her shoulder and then over her mouth, or she probably would have screamed. She struggled to throw them off, kicking with both her legs at where she guessed the owner of the hands might be. 

"Easy, chere.. easy - oof - " came the voice as she finally made contact, and the hands fell away. She heard a soft thud as he fell back, and then she heard him scramble to his feet again. "Don' scream. I ain' gonna hurt you. Jus' gonna untie you." 

Rua felt the hands on her again, and she fought her instinct to struggle. The rope on her wrist loosened and fell away, and she pushed herself upright. She sensed the Cajun back away a little as she did so, probably afraid of getting kicked again. Rua found the rope around her ankles, but was inwardly too panicked to concentrate on feeling how to untie the not. 

"Let me, chere," offered the Cajun. "You jus' take a minute to calm yoahself down, and I'll finish untyin' you. Jus' don' kick Remy in de face, oui?" 

She took a deep breath, releasing it as a growl, low in her throat. However, she nodded - not that he could see it. "Alright." 

"T'ank you, chere," he said, and he moved towards her, placing a hand gently on her leg at the knee, and then he went to work on the ropes again. In a few second he had them untied, and he backed away again. 

"Rua," she growled stretching her legs a little. 

"What?" 

"My name." she said lowly, "Rua," and then mockingly extended a hand towards him, knowing he couldn't see to take it. She nearly screamed as he shook her hand firmly and said, "Remy." It was then that she noticed she could see his eyes, glowing a dim red. She pulled her hand away. "What are you? You're not human - you're one of them now, aren't you?" 

"I'm not human," the red eyes lowered themselves, and his voice was as low in the throat as hers. "But I will kill myself before I become one of... dem." He slid further away from her, and the glow from his eyes disappeared. His eyes were closed. "I was awake when dey t'rew us in. De only way out is up, an' de only way up is wit' a ladder or somet'in'. De walls are smooth an' pretty high." 

Rua breathed deeply, trying to calm down so she could think. She did a mental evaluation of herself. No broken bones, just a few bad bruises and whatever had happened to her head. She could remember everything about her past - unfortunately. She slid her hand down to her boots. Her daggers were not there. She gasped a little, and she saw the red eyes on her again. "My daggers..." 

The eyes looked at her for a moment, and she looked into them. After a moment, she heard the sound of metal on metal. "Dey t'rew our weapons in with us. I got yoah two daggers by me. Didn' want you to hurt yoahself by stumblin' on dem. Didn' want you to hurt me eit'er. Hold out yoah hand again." 

Rua hesitated, but held out her hand. She felt the hilt of one dagger placed into it. She waited for him to let go of the blade and sheathed it in one boot, and then held out her hand again. 

"I jus' want to make somet'in' clear, chere. I had de chance to kill you, or rape you, or whatever else yoah're afraid of while you were sleepin'." With that, she felt the other hilt in her hand. 

She sighed a little as she sheathed her second dagger. Once she had checked to make sure the third was still concealed under her tunic, she felt her way to the wall. She found the seam where wall met the dirt floor, and followed along it around most of her side of the space. Then she pulled out one of her daggers and began digging in a random spot, throwing the dirt to the side her. 

Remy laughed, and she looked towards the sound, seeing the red eyes watching her again. This unnerved her, but she kept digging. It was something to do. Maybe she could dig a way out, maybe not, but it was a mindless task to keep her from thinking. 

After a long period filled only with the sound of her heavy breathing and the scraping of dirt, the texture of the dirt changed, and then suddenly, her hand shot downards. She cried out, nearly dropping the blade, and Remy was at her side in an instant. 

"You allright?" he asked. Rua pulled her hand out slowly, and a gentle cool draft of air came from the hole. The red eyes narrowed, and he laughed again. "If dat's not impressive, I don' know what is...." 

In the process of digging she had encountered a few sizeable pebbles. She held her breath and dropped one, and after a few seconds, she heard a splash. "There's water down there. A way out..." She started digging frantically again, but he put a hand on her wrist, stopping her. She growled at him. 

"Let me for a while, chere. You rest. Yoah're bleedin' again." 

Rua put a hand to her head, discovering that what she thought was sweat was actually sticky. He was right - she needed a break. She switched her grip on her dagger and held it out to him. "Don't drop it." 

"Don' worry. I won'," he replied, taking it, and he started digging, trying to widen the hole. 

She slid out of his way, leaning against the wall. Rua untangled the scarf that was knotted in her hair, and wrapped it tightly again, both over her hair and the wound. "How... well can you see?" 

"Well enough to get around in de dark. I can' see down dere, t'ough. But I t'ink I can fix dat. We'll see." He laughed at the pun, and then dug for a while in silence. 

They took turns, resting and digging for what had to be several hours. As each minute went by, they became more and more afraid that Necromel would come for them. However, finally, Rua decided that the hole was big enough - for them both. She sat on the edge of it, and was about to slide through, but Remy stopped her. "Wait," he said, "and close yoah eyes." She felt him move away, but his red eyes looked at her again. He came back, and she heard the sound of his staff in the dirt. The red eyes moved downward, and he put his hand on her shoulder. He was crouching across the hole from her. "Close dem, chere. Jus' for a minute. Trust Remy - you ain' gonna want dem open." 

She breathed in deeply again, and closed her eyes. 

"Good girl," he said, and then she was blinded by light. She had to throw her arm up over her eyes, even though they were closed, to block it out. It probably wasn't as bright as it seemed, just a stark contrast from the blackness she had gotten used to. After a second the light diminished a lot, and then she heard a splash. She opened her eyes. She could see his face, dimly in the light coming up from the whole. He was looking at her, smiling. "Dere. Now we can maybe see a little, non?" 

She looked down into the hole without speaking. The staff floated on an underground lake about fifty meters below them. The light caused a good part of the lake around it to glow, and she could see that it was very deep. Rua tried not to think about what might lurk in those depths, and from the look on Remy's face, he was doing the same. 

"Well... here goes..." he said, pushing himself through. She watched him twist himself in the air as he fell, diving gracefully into the water, and quickly resurfacing. She took a deep breath, gathering her nerve. She had swam often when she was younger, but she had been terrified of the water ever since... She pushed the thought from her mind. The possibility of drowning was, though, far better than the idea of becoming Necromel's next bride. Checking to make sure all of her daggers were secure in their sheathes, she pushed herself off, folding her self up into the tightest ball she could. She had seen people do this - hitting the water like a cannonball. She panicked as soon as she felt the water and she lost all of her air. Rua struggled to pull herself to the surface - it seemed to take an eternity, and when she got there, nothing she would do would keep her there. Images flashed in her mind - a pearl, storm clouds, waves, lightening, Jorash... 

Remy saw her trouble and swam to her aid, but her floundering about kept pulling him under as well. "Calm down - damn you - stop - strugglin'-" he said in between dunkings. However, he himself had to hold back panic when he saw something moving in the water towards them. A fin, then a smooth head, then two large eyes emerged from the water. The creature stopped about ten feet away and watched him struggle with her. The next time they emerged, three more had joined it, and they formed a circle around Rua and Remy. Two of them moved in, and grabbed Rua by the arms, pulling her away from Remy. She screamed, and fought, but they were very strong and had the advantage. One of the others took charge of Remy's staff, and the last swam towards Remy, looking at him. Something passed between them in the silence, and Remy nodded. It, and the one with the staff turned and swam, and Remy followed. The other two drug Rua along. Seeing the Cajun's reaction, she stopped struggling, just glad to be afloat. 

The lake began to narrow, and she could feel it get shallow as well. The creatures released her when she felt her feet finally touch bottom, and she staggered to shore. Remy and the first two creatures were already there, watching her in silence. She glared at them as she fell to her knees on shore. Remy walked to her, and kneeled, looking at her. "You should have told me you couldn' swim, chere." 

She said nothing, glaring at him, and when he stood, offering her a hand up, she slapped it away. Remy turned and looked at the creature that held the staff, and Rua, slowly standing, finally got her first good look at them. They were amphibians, having both gills and the ability to breathe out of water. They were covered in green scales, and they looked human shaped, except they had large flippers instead of feet. 

"T'ank you," Remy said to the creature, bowing slightly. It bowed back, and gestured towards a pathway leading out of the cave. It then took a few steps, and gestured that they should follow. Rua looked up at Remy, and he forced a smile. "Don' got much choice, non?" 

Rua nodded reluctantly, and she followed Remy behind the amphibians. Noticing that she had hair in her eyes, she put a hand to her damp head, feeling for her scarf. It had gotten knotted into her hair again or else she likely would have lost it by now. She spent the entire walk fighting to get it undone. She hated her hair when it was wet. 

The amphibians led them to a smaller chamber, with many more of the creatures in it. The walls were filled with small caves, probably rooms of some sort for the creatures to live in. In the center of the chamber was a shallow pond, which had an island in the middle of it. And on that island - both Rua and Remy gasped at the sight - was a gigantic glowing crystal, at least as tall as she was, and as thick as an old oak tree. 

She combed her fingers absentmindedly through her wet hair, staring at the crystal. The amphibian with Remy's staff stepped closer to them holding the staff out, indicating it. It then pointed at the crystal, and looked back at Remy meaningfully. 

"It want' me to do somet'in', I jus' don' know what," he said. Just then the crystal flickered, and went out, leaving the cave lit only by the light of the staff. Rua, who happened to be looking at Remy's face at the time, saw it twist with pain. 

"What's wrong?" 

"I can feel 'em - all of 'em," he said slowly. "Dat crystal is deir life - it's dyin', and so are dey." 

"You can feel them?" she raised an eyebrow at him again, and he just looked at her, his eyes full of misery. She could tell her response to this would affect him a lot. She looked at the crystal, which was starting to glow dimly again, letting her awe hopefully hide her fear. He was an empath. Was he a mind-reader as well? "What do they want from you?" 

"I t'ink - dat dey t'ink - dat I can make deir crystal glow - like I made my staff glow." 

"Can you?" 

"I don' know, chere," he said, looking down at his hands. 

Rua, who stood behind him, put her hands on his shoulders reassuringly. "When we get out of this, Remy, you're going to have to tell me what you are," she said, as lightly as she could make it. 

He pulled away from her touch and turned towards her, looking into her eyes. His eyes, in the shadows, were glowing dimly with red. "You don' want to know," he said, and it was only just barely not a command. 

She frowned, sinking back into her anger. "Don't tell me what I can and cannot want, Cajun," she snapped. 

Remy turned away, and walked towards the pond. He stood on the edge for a moment, and then stepped into it. The amphibians stood, watching him, as he waded across the pond towards the crystal. He stood facing it, but he was still looking down at his hands. Slowly, he reached toward the crystal, palms outward. Rua gasped as his hands started to glow. Remy lowered his head, and thrust his hands against the crystal. He screamed - a scream as inhuman and disturbing as Necromel's had been in the tavern - but this scream was one of agony. The crystal pulsed, went out, and then glowed again, gaining brightness. Rua had to look away. It was like looking into the sun. After a few moments more, the light had peaked and receded to a constant glow. She looked across the pond. 

The amphibians, slowly lowering their arms from in front of their eyes, were silent. Remy stood, a few steps away from the crystal, looking down at his hands again. It seemed like an eternity before his knees gave out from under him and he splashed into the pond. 

This broke the spell on the cave, and the amphibians started moving around. Two of the amphibians waded into the pond and carried the Cajun out. Nothing they, or Rua, could do would get him to respond. A kelp bed was arranged in one of the smaller caves, and he was laid on this. The rest of the amphibians bustled around, it seemed to Rua, preparing a celebration. 


	4. Part Three

Sunlight: Part Three: Trust

Bright, alien dance music filtered up from the cavern below. It was almost harp like, but... damper. Rua scoffed at this description, but lacking a better one, had to think of it that way. She had seen the instrument earlier, it was a large round frame of a tough kind of underwater wood, strung in an intermeshing pattern of thin sinew. 

Rua leaned back against the wall of the cave. She had given up on waiting for the Cajun to wake up and gone off to find her a quiet place to sit and think. She didn't know why she cared about what happened to him. The Amphi - as she had come to call the amphibians in her own mind - would take care of him. He was their new hero. She should just take the opportunity to disappear again. There was a chance that Zaine and the others would loose her trail in Necromel's village, and give her time to increase her distance. Despite the fact that they were hunting her, she didn't like the idea of Necromel getting his hands - or teeth - into them. They had been her family for a very long time, after all. 

And hopefully, with the Pemdrias gone, Zaine would regain some semblance of sanity. Her hand went up to her neck, suddenly worried that she might have lost it in everything that happened, but the pendant was still there, hidden under her tunic. The Pemdrias was the symbol of everything bad that had happened to the guild over the past year. The gem at the pendants center, which changed color in the light, resembled the guild perfectly. And the eternal knot that held the gem showed exactly how long it would go on this way. 

Rua heard the soft squelch of Amphi footfalls approaching the cave, and she opened her eyes, waiting. Sure enough, it was Shells, the Amphi who had taken possession of Remy's staff. As the time that she had sat near Remy's bed waiting for him to wake stretched past several hours, Shells taught her to play an Amphi game involving pebbles and shells. This is how she had come to think of him, since the Amphi had no spoken language she could understand. In the process of playing the game, they also had worked out a primitive method of communication through gestures. 

Shells entered the cave slowly, looking at her. _"There is change," _he gestured, _"with man-of-light."_Man-of-light was the name they had for Remy, for what he had done. The gesture for it was hands, palm outward, forning a triangle with pointers and thumbs, the other fingers spread and closed twice. 

Rua nodded, and stood, following Shells out of the cave, and back down the cavern to the cave where Remy had been laying. The Amphi, of course, had no concept of fire, so it was dark in the back of the cave where the bed was, where the light from the crystal did not reach. Shells stopped at the entrance, and grasped her arm to stop her from going in. She could see his dim figure, crouched low and holding his staff, his eyes glowing red. She looked at Shells, and the other Amphi who had gathered, and gestured for them to leave. Shells looked at her, reluctant to go, and she gestured again. He nodded, gestured ,_"carefulness,"_ and led the others away. 

"Remy? You feeling ok?" she asked, stepping into the cave. The Cajun advanced on her with a growl, and she fought the urge to draw one of her blades. She took another step, bracing herself for an attack. "Remy-" 

The next few movements happened in a flash. He lashed out at her with the staff, which she ducked under, nearly getting hit. She managed to kick his knee from the back, throwing him off balance momentarily, giving her enough time to grip the staff with both hands. They struggled for control of the staff for a moment, but he forced her backwards, and she lost her footing on a pebble. This gave him the upper hand, and he slammed her into the wall, the staff against her throat, the red eyes narrowed, and a rather frightening snarl on his face. It was all she could do to keep it from crushing her windpipe, but it was still cutting off her air. This went on for about a minute, and just as her vision was beginning to black out, he shook his head, as if coming out of a trance, and the staff disappeared. He moved quickly to the other side of the cave, his head in his hands, and she turned, staggering out of the cave, using the wall for support, trying to stop gasping for air. 

"Rua..." his voice came softly behind her, a voice of recognition. She didn't stop - she had enough people trying to kill her without adding another. They were both free to go on their separate ways now. Their alliance had only been a temporary one, lasting until they had escaped Necromel. However, the memory of him trying to keep her from drowning surfaced as part of that escape, and her pace slowed, and then stopped. She turned, but said nothing. 

He was leaning with one hand against the cave wall, looking at her. His eyes stilled glowed in the darkness, but not with the same empty fury that they had a few moments before. "I'm sorry 'bout dat, chere - I know dat sorry don' mean nothin' to you - but Remy _is_ sorry... sometimes I jus' can' control it-" 

"I'll keep that in mind," she said dryly, glaring at him. 

He clenched his jaw, looking angry again, and she turned to go. There was no reason for her to take the risk of staying. She had taken maybe three steps, when she heard him sigh. "Rua?" he said hesitantly, and she turned again, her own jaw clenched. "Why did you - stay here-?" 

Rua knew he that he wanted to know if she had stayed because she was worried about him, which she had. But she had made up her mind to walk away. She shook her head, and turned again. "Sorry, Cajun. You missed a nice party while you were taking your nap." 

She had taken five steps this time when she felt a rapid movement behind her. She spun, producing her concealed dagger, and taking a defensive stance. He had been making a move to grab her, and he withdrew his hand quickly, backing away. "Rua -" 

Remy stood there with his hands held apart, looking at her helplessly, trying to find something to say. After a moment, he gave up, finding nothing, and looked at the floor, dropping his hands to his side in frustration. She lowered her dagger, relaxing her stance. "They had a real big celebration while you were out, I wasn't joking about that. There's still music -" she paused, and he looked up at her, then towards the opening of the cave and listened. The damp instrument was still playing, this time a soft tune that made her think of tides. 

He looked down at his hands, taking on a tranced look again, and when he spoke, his voice was quiet, and full of pain. At the sound of it, she put her dagger away, walking a few steps towards him. "De crystal's ok, den? After I let go of it, I started thinkin' it broke, and dey were all dyin', because of me - I've destroyed so much, chere - I didn' really t'ink dat dis would be any different." 

"That was just a dream, Cajun," Rua said, not sarcastically, but not quite kindly either. "You're a hero." 

"I ain' no... hero," he replied, barely able to say the word. "I don' expect a good chere like you to understand... but dere are terrible t'ings dat people do - an' Remy's one of de people dat does dem -" 

"Don't say that, Remy -" she began, but he cut her off. 

"You don' know me, chere. You don' know what I am." 

"And you don't know me," she growled, suddenly angry, though whether it was at him or at herself she wasn't sure. She didn't know what it was about him that made her keep finding reasons not to walk away, but it annoyed her. "You don't know what I am. I guarantee that I have done more of 'dose terrible t'ings,'" she said mockingly, "Than you have even dreamed of." 

His eyes blazed again, looking at her, but he said nothing, instead going to sit on the kelp bed. By the time he had turned around to look at her again, the fierceness was gone from his face. "Come sit down, chere." 

"No," she replied, her jaw clenched. 

The Cajun held out one hand, and said, "You wanted to know what Remy was... I'll tell you, if you still do..." 

"I don't care anymore. Why should I? You tried to kill me. I think that would have ended any sympathy I might have had for you, don't you?" 

Remy dropped the hand, looking at the floor. "Den why are you still here, chere? If you don' care about Remy no more? Dat is - if you ever did at all -" 

She didn't answer him because it was the same question she had been asking herself. This was the first time - the second, she chided herself - that she had let something like an attempt on her life go unpunished. She had certainly killed men for less in the past, and she didn't understand why it was impossible for her to do so now, or with Zaine. 

"I could see dat you got t'ings that yoah're hidin' from, an' runnin' from... back when you first woke up in de pit," he said quietly, looking down at the floor. "Don' be upset - I didn' read yoah mind - I can jus' feel people's feelin's, an' you got de feelin' of prey runnin' from a huntin' dog - an' I guess I t'ought dat maybe you might understand me a little..." 

"So... you are an empath. Is that how you understood what the Amphi wanted?" 

"De Amphi?" he asked, looking puzzeled for a moment. "Oh - de amphibians. I see. Yeah. Dat's how I understood." 

Rua nodded, seeing what had been keeping her from leaving. Fighting together, and escaping together, and saving each other's lives had eased some of the hopeless loneliness she felt since she ran from the guild. She had gotten the same sense about him, but it was from years of well honed instinct, not empathy. She still didn't quite trust him - after all he had nearly killed her - so she sat down on the floor where she was. He looked at her for a moment, then nodded, acknowledging that this was all the compromise he was going to get. 

"I am... not from Llyrya " he began, then hesitated. "I come from off de island - a whole 'nother world, really. I was a human den... but when I came here, somet'in' in me jus' - changed." He looked down at his hands, and she could see he was broaching a very painful subject. "I was always bad inside, but it was like someone saw dat badness an' pour a whole lot more in - I got dis power - dis way of takin' energy and makin' it do what I want it to - and dis darkness inside of me likes to make it destroy t'ings." 

Rua felt from his hesitation that he was concealing very much of the story, and she rather suspected that the _someone_ was more than a vague reference. However, thinking of her own deeds as a mercenary, she scoffed at him. "What could you possibly have done that was so terrible?" 

"I killed people - I destroyed a few mountains jus' because I -" here he hesitated again, and she knew his next statement was a complete lie. "Jus' because I t'ough dat it would be fun." 

It took a second, but a memory of destroyed mountains surfaced in her mind. There had been a small group of costal mountains in Faeryrn that had mysteriously crumpled into the sea, killing almost all of the Toketi, the tribe of dwarves who lived there. She shuddered. It was rumored that Arawna, the dark sorceress of Faeryrn, had been responsible for it, because the dwarves had fought back against her rule. Since that disaster, all of the dwarves remaining in the country served the sorceress. Rua, however, did not press the issue directly. "You - destroyed Toketia -" she said, letting that thought carry the emotion she was feeling. She had dealt with empaths many times before, and she knew that trying to stifle an emotion was the fastest way to show it. It was better to make the words fit the feeling. 

"Yes," he said sofly. 

"If you have this - power - why didn't you just destroy Necromel when he attacked you?" 

"Because if I did - de darkness would find me again... everytime I use it to hurt t'ings it takes over more and more of my soul..." 

Rua stood, and he looked up at her. The look on his face was one of expectation met; he thought she was leaving, and this time, he wouldn't call after her. Instead of leaving, though, Rua crossed her arms and looked down at him. "Tell me something, Cajun - it's a yes or no question, just answer it straight - are you running away from this darkness? Are you trying to loose its hold on you?" 

He sighed, looking back down at the floor of the cave. "Yes," he began, "but I don' t'ink -" 

"Then you shouldn't talk," she said, with a grin, teasing him. He looked up at her, confused for a moment, until he saw the smile. She shrugged. "The person that destroyed Toketia and the person who saved the amphibians isn't the same person. Look at it as a personal victory." She turned, walking out of the cave. 

"Yoah're leaving," he stated, with no doubt in his voice. 

"There's still plenty of food around. You need to eat," she stated, and disappeared. 

Remy sat alone in the cave, staring at the floor, not really believing she would return, though his empathy told him otherwise. Rua had been right in her guess, but he didn't know it. The sorceress had brought him, and others, somehow, from his world with her dark sorcery. Most of them had been turned into half-human creatures in her experiments. Arawna had taken a personal interest in him. His lifestyle as a thief had left him fit, athletic, and agile, and he was not unattractive. That lifestyle had also left him alone - no family, few friends and none of them real - and she had easily seduced him with promises of love and power. And he had enjoyed it, for over a year, until he was replaced. 

The new fascination was a mage, even darker than Arawna had been. Her own thirst for power was immense, and she saw this mage as her only real equal. She had cast Remy aside. She had still given him a position as a general in her army, and they had spent the occasional night together, but he had realized that it was nothing more than a source of amusement to her. 

This gave the voice inside of him the chance to be heard, and he listened to it. There was a line, and he had crossed far over it. So he left Arawna's castle, wanting nothing more than to die, but lacking the courage to end his own life. He disguised himself, and vowed he would never use his powers again. 

A vow he had just broken. He put his head in his hands, and this was the way Rua found him when she returned, carrying a kelp basket full of food. "Headache?" she asked coyly, to which he responded with a shrug. She sat the basket down in front of him, and took a seat next to him on the bed. "Eat. You'll feel better." 

He looked through the basket, but said nothing, and took nothing. 

"Don't worry. It's safe. And it's not too bad," she said, pulling out a kelp wrapped piece of raw fish - the same fish the sinew for the Amphi harp came from. She made him take it, and she pulled out a second, which she took a bite out of. 

"I'm not hungry." 

"You need to get your strength up, Cajun, so we can get out of here." 

Remy shook his head, looking at the fish-wrap. "What you mean by we?" he asked. 

"Eat," she commanded. She glared at him till he took a bite. 

After chewing and swallowing, he seemed to process the taste. "It taste like chicken," he said at length, "Cold. Mushy. But Chicken." 

Rua nodded, then she thought about his question. What had she meant by we? "I suppose since we've come this far we might as well stick together till we get into the sunlight again," she finally settled on as a response. Even though he had discovered an unfounded trust in her, she still wasn't about to place much faith in him. The moment she saw that look in his eyes again, she would slit his throat and run. 

Looking at her, he could sense that she wasn't planning on sticking around. He finished off the fish wrap. "Till sunlight, den..." he said with a sigh. 


	5. Part Four

Sunlight: Part Four: Into the Light

Shells returned to the cave not long after Remy had finished eating, and had a short gestured conversation with Rua, while Remy watched, his lips slightly parted in amusement. When Shells left, he turned to her. "What was dat about?" he asked. 

Rua smirked at him. "What's the matter, mind reader? You didn't get that?" 

He frowned at her. "I tol' you - I ain' a mind reader," He snapped, "I don' go into people's heads like dat - Dat ain' right - I jus' get what dey're feelin -" 

"Then I must have a pretty thick skull - or you would have caught the joke," she snapped in return. His mood swings confused the hell out of her. 

"Remy don' ever laugh 'bout dat one, chere," he said with a sigh, turning his red gaze on her. "But yoah're right. I can' read you like I can everyone else. Yoah're blockin' me out... All I can tell is dat you don' trust Remy, but somet'in's stopping you from leavin'. 

It was Rua's turn to frown. Out of everything, that stupid sentimental thought was the loudest on in her head? She wanted to kill him then and there for that. 

"An' frustration over it," he added with a smirk, trying to return her earlier humor. 

She glared at him. "The only thing stopping me from leaving is the hundreds of feet of solid rock above me, and the potential to get lost for ever in the mazes down here. I asked for a guide out and they said they could only spare one for the both of us when you were finally ready to go. Some bizarre custom that I didn't quite understand. But you're on your feet again, and have been deemed in good health. Shells told me that we are wanted to come before their council. Then we are being sent away. Apparently they normally kill outsiders, not wanting their society to be corrupted," she shrugs, "And when we get to the surface, I'll be gone faster than you can blink." 

With another sigh, he nodded. "Le's go den, Rua," he said, and waited for her to move, since she seemed to know what was going on more than he did. 

She turned without another word, and, he noted, a reinforced mental barrier, and walked out of the cave. Remy followed her a few paces behind, taking his time to look around. The cave seemed to endlessly fold into smaller ones, and he suspected that there were numerous tunnels and pathways between them. He wondered if it was natural. In the shadows he could see the Amphi watching as they made their way back down by the crystal pool, where a group of Amphi stood, waiting. They wore a lot of jewelry made from shells, pearls, and shiny stones, some more than others. He assumed it to be an indicator of rank. They were arranged in a semi-circle at the edge of the crystal pool. Among them was Shells. 

He was simply glad to see the crystal was glowing healthily. Despite what Rua had said, his dreams had given him some concern over what had actually happened. But everything looked fine. 

Rua stopped as Shells gestured. She looked at Remy. "They want to give you a gift, to thank you for what you have done," she says, in a low, cold voice. "Try and look like it isn't an insult." 

Remy looked at the council, whom he could read the emotions of fairly well. They were gazing at him with a mixture of awe and gratitude. One of them stepped forwards, bowing slightly, with a small piece of crystal. It was held out to Remy, and Rua translated as Shells gestured, translating the Amphi with the crystal. It was supposedly one of the shards from the crystal, which had broken off some time before they could remember, before the crystal had ever glowed. He was told that taking it completed the circle, and that it would protect him. Not quite sure what that meant, or why they thought he needed protection, he tried to smile as he took the crystal. "T'ank you," he said, "I will keep it safe." 

Shells himself then stepped forwards, with a necklace made out of tiny blue shells strung together, which he took to Rua. She froze, her eyes wide, and Remy grinned. "Try an' look like it ain' an insult, oui?" he said, earning another glare. As Shells slipped the necklace around Rua's neck, he disturbed the neckline of her tunic, revealing a hidden silver chain. It didn't strike Remy as important, but being a former thief, he noted it in his memory out of habit. 

"I don't deserve this," she spoke and gestured to Shells. "I didn't do anything -" 

_You are friend_, came the gestured response, _we do not forget friend_. He stepped back, then bowed to the council. _We depart now for dryworld._

Remy guessed from Rua's sudden bowing to the council, that it was time to go. He offered his own bow to the council, and then followed after Rua and Shells, who had already started walking. He maintained a few paces behind, silently following, watching the two converse in gestures. He understood bits and pieces from what he could sense from the Amphi, but Rua was still a great mystery. Her mental barrier was a thick wall of anger. He couldn't even tell the direction that the anger was aimed. He didn't blame her for not trusting him - after all, he didn't deserve anyone's trust. 

After about an hour, they came to branch in the tunnel, and Shells stopped, gesturing. "Shells says that if we follow this, it leads directly towards the surface." Rua translated, then bowed to Shells, gestured something in return that amused the Amphi greatly, and started down the tunnel. 

Remy offered his own bow, then followed after her. "Jus' remember dat you can' see in de dark, chere," he said softly, catching up to her. She was feeling along the walls and floor, carefully. 

"I'll manage on my own," she snapped. "I always have before." 

"I don' doubt dat in de least," he replied. "But if we do it yoah way, we be down here for weeks." 

She stopped, and stepped to the side. "Then you go on ahead. You can be the one to disappear in a blink." 

"Don' be like dat, Rua," he said, standing across the tunnel from her, pinning her with his red gaze. "I'll go first. You jus' take Remy's hand an' follow real close, an' we be out before you know it." 

"I don't need your help," came the reply through clenched teeth. 

"No - I know you don' need my help," he snapped, trying a different tactic. "An' I wouldn' give it to you if I t'ought you did. You t'ink I care bout helpin' you? No. I jus' want you where I can keep my eyes on you. Even if dat means followin' along after you doin' it yoah way. I don' trust you. An' I ain' lettin' you out of my sight." There was a minute of dead silence, and he could see that she had been surprised by the change in attitude. Her barrier had also dropped some, and he could tell that she hadn' been expecting that at all. In fact, he caught the slightest bit of hurt and confused before her anger barrier snapped back into place. "Well?" he snapped again at length. 

"Fine," she growled, holding out her hand. "But remember - You try anything and I'll slit your throat." 

He took her hand firmly, and started forwards. "Dat would mean bein' able to see my t'roat, non? Maybe you better jus' play nice before I slit yoahs," he said, his voice rough, but he actualy bore an amused smile on his face. Fulfiling her distrust seemed to be the only way to get her to cooperate. "Remember - I can see an' you can'. Which mean dat I find you before you find me, non?" 

"Try it," she snapped, pulling away. She hadn't gone more than five feet when something grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her back, and slammed her front first against the wall of the cave. A second later she registered that there was a blade at her throat. She felt his breath on the back of her neck as he pressed her against the wall. She struggled, but it was no use. "Go on and do it, then, this time," she growled, annoyed with the fact that he had the advantage over her again. 

There was a moment of silence, and she felt his breathing slow to a more controlled rate, but his hold on her did not release. "Listen to me," he said, his voice low and cold, but not harsh. "I don' want to hurt you, Rua. But I won' leave you down here alone. You said before dat we stick together till we make it up to de sunlight, an' dat's what we gon' do. We can go our separate ways den, if you want. But not a moment before dat. Oui?" 

"Fine," she growled, attempting to control her own breathing, as well as her temper. It wasn't working too well. "But you try that again when I can see you and see how it goes..." 

"I have no doubt dat you'd probably kill me," he replied, releasing her. "But I don' intend to try it. Dere be no need." Remy found her hand again, and pressed the hilt of the blade in it. 

"Why are you giving me your knife?" she asked. 

"Dat ain' my knife, chere... Dat belong to you." He smirked as she yanked it away from him, dropping to find her left boot was indeed missing its blade. She muttered something under her breath at him, and he just chuckled. "See? Not'in' wrong wit' bein' a t'ief - it come in handy some times..."

"As soon as it gets light enough for me to see, I am going to kill you for that." She snapped, standing again. The thing that alarmed her is that she had no idea when he had swiped it. When she had dropped her guard low enough to miss that, she didn't know. But if she kept slipping up like this, her luck was going to run out real fast. 

He found her hand once more, and pulled her forwards. "I have no doubt dat yoah're probably gon' try..." he replied, somewhat sadly. And no more was said between them for quite a while, aside from a 'watch dis' or 'step here' or 'duck yoah head,' until the tunnel began to get just a faint bit lighter. 

Rua pulled her hand away. "It's about time," she muttered, starting ahead of him on her own. Remy said nothing to this, merely pulled out a pair of dark tinted glasses and slipped them over his eyes once he saw the opening of the cave ahead. She spared him a glance and a raised eyebrow at the glasses before she fought her way through the vine growth and brush that covered the entrance. 

He was surprised to find her still standing there after he had fought his own way through. "Ain' you gone yet?" he asked, somewhat snidely. 

"No - we still have something to settle," she reminded him, crouching and drawing her knives. 

Remy sighed and rolled his eyes. "You ain' serious," he said. 

"I assure you," she drew back one of the knives to throw it, "that I am." 

Shaking his head, he turned and started into the woods. I'm sorry you feel dat way, chere, but I ain' gon' fight you." He froze as a knife whizzed by his head, sinking into a tree about a foot in front of him. It was joined by the other two, forming a straight line, before all three disappeared again as she recalled them. He turned, looking at her. "Cut dat out," he said softly, "Dere ain' no need for us to fight. I'm leavin' you be, like you wanted." 

"I told you, Cajun..." she drew back her hand again, "That I'd kill you for stealing from me." 

"I didn' steal nothin'! I jus' borrowed it to make a point - I don' carry a knife, jus' my staff an' I t'ought dat you'd had enough of de staff at yoah neck... didn' want you to t'ink dat I was tryin' to kill you again..." he sighed once more, looking at her, changing tactics once more. He half laughed, "Dere'd be no point in us fightin', Rua - I'd jus' do to you what I did to de crystal - 'cept it wouldn' make you light up - you'd jus' kind of..." he stopped and shrugged, smirking. 

"You'd have to get your hands on me first, though - and you'd never get close enough," she stated, indicating the knife. 

Remy just shook his head, then lifted his right arm slightly, pointing his hand at a fallen branch not to far from her. She had no way of knowing that he couldn't do it. Her eyes went wide, and he took advantage of her momentary shock, using his new strategy of confusing her. He cried out and fell to his knees, burying his face in his hands. He tried not to grin as she took the bait, slipping her knives back in her boots and running to his side. 

"Remy? What happened?" she asked, the anger in her voice replaced with concern. 

As soon as she was close enough, he sprung, tackling her and pinning her to the ground. Rua growled, and he smirked at her. "See? You like Remy - jus' admit it." 

"I don't like you, you arrogant bastard," she snapped, trying to get her arms free. 

"Den why you care if Remy be hurt jus' den?" he asked. 

She hesitated before snapping, "Because I wanted to kill you myself," and then brought her knee up into his stomach, throwing off his hold. She rolled away, into a crouch. "Now get up and fight me." 

A little winded by the blow, he took a stance himself, and summoned his staff. "Fine - we do dis yoah way, chere, he said tiredly. 

Rua nodded, and instead of drawing her daggers, she scanned the forest around her, and found a suitable branch, that was about her height. She quickly stripped it of twigs and leaves and then matched his stance. 

"What's dat for?" he asked. 

"You said you don't carry a knife," she said with a shrug. "I want to enjoy killing you and beating that smirk of yours off your face is the most enjoyable thing I can think of right now." 

With that, she stepped towards him, making the first attack, bringing the staff at his head. He blocked it and she brought the bottom end towards his knee, but it was parried away as well. They traded blows in this manner before he finally locked their staffs together. "What now, chere?" he asked. "Seems to be a stalemate, non?" She grinned at him, sliding her staff out of the bind and tossing it into the air, where it landed neatly across an overhanging branch. "Dat was stupid," he said, looking upwards and smirking, until he felt his staff wrested out of his hands. She nailed him three times in succession, the back of his knees, his stomach, and then across his shoulders, and Remy was on the ground before he knew what had happened. 

"No... that was stupid - you taking your eyes off of me." She brought the staff up against his throat. "You're dead," she commented, then drew it away, stepping back. 

Remy looked up at her. "You ain' gon' kill me?" he asked, somewhat weakly, her final attack had hurt, quite a bit. 

"I just did. I'll call it that that makes us even, since you didn't really _steal_ from me, just _borrowed_," she said, dropping his staff and walking away. 

He picked up the staff and pushed himself back to his feet, following her. "Is dis de part where you vanish into thin air?" 

"Maybe - or maybe I'll wait till after breakfast. There's a tavern not to far from here a sane, normal tavern. Let's go eat." She offers him a slight smile. 


End file.
